This invention relates generally to Schottky diodes, and more particularly the invention relates to a Schottky diode structure which improves operating characteristics of surrounding circuitry.
The Schottky diode is formed at the boundary of a metal in contact with a doped semiconductor material. In an epitaxial structure, the metal contacts the surface of an epitaxial layer formed on a supporting substrate. A highly-doped buried layer is normally formed on the surface of an opposite-conductivity-type substrate prior to the formation of the epitaxial layer. The epitaxial layer will have the same conductive type as the buried layer, and the buried layer becomes the anode or cathode of the diode.
One problem in operating a conventional Schottky diode in a substrate having other electrical components thereon arises from diode current being injected into the substrate. The injected current can have deleterious effects on the other electrical components.